About this season
Strange Days on Planet Earth is a four-part television program on PBS concerning human impact on the environment. It is narrated by Edward Norton. The show was produced by Sea Studios Foundation. Strange Days on Planet Earth grew into an ongoing partnership with the National Geographic Society to bring focus on our personal connection to the planet’s life systems. The series were broadcast on PBS to over 12 million viewers in the U.S. and millions more in Europe, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand. In 2007–2008, the Strange Days initiative focused on the global issues acing the ocean, under the name Strange Days Ocean.
Episodes (2)
1. Dangerous Catch
Aired 23 April 2008 • 60 min
Plenty of fish in the sea? Not anymore. As wild supplies dwindle, the long hidden ties binding all life to the ocean are clearly coming into view. Can we ignore these powerful connections? What can we do to protect the ocean, ourselves and our future? Our massive demands on the ocean’s bounty impacts life far beyond the shoreline: bushmeat hunting is on the rise in Ghana while in Namibia; fishing grounds struggle to recover as putrid fumes explode from the ocean depths and poison the waters; and radical new fish farms are sprouting up from Puerto Rico to Canada. Across the globe, all life is feeling the effects of overfishing. Can we protect fish in time to safeguard the ocean, life on land and ultimately ourselves? Find out how we all can make a difference.
2. Dirty Secrets
Aired 23 April 2008 • 60 min
Something is amiss in our global world water supply: Striped bass are succumbing to flesh-eating bacteria in Chesapeake Bay; seabird chicks are starving in Hawai‘i; coral reefs are weakening under a growing assault of invisible contaminants and an increasing variety of aquatic animals are showing signs of developmental disorders. Experts and citizens are racing to find clues to the causes—and the solutions. Find out how we all can make a difference.